Thanks for visiting us at kathyobrien.com, we hope you are enjoying this early autumn weather as much as we are! Below you will find some fun ideas to make the most of our most famous season.

Nationwide, existing home sales were down slightly in August, falling 2% after
two consecutive months of increases, according to the National Association of
REALTORS®. The decline in existing home sales coincides with rising sales
prices, which have continued to soar into fall, with the median sales price of
existing homes up 14.9% compared to last year. Declining affordability has [...]

With Four Seasons Sotheby's International Realty, you have the capacity to reach audiences across the country and even the globe to market your unique property. Below you will see an ad we posted recently for our listing in Burlington that featured in a New York Times flipbook. We have all sorts of creative and fun ways of advertising your real estate!

When I start daydreaming about building a fantasy life in the country, the image in my head usually contains some kind of cozy cottage. This sherbet-colored abode for sale in Burlington, Vermont, has somehow filled in the blanks of my imagination: a thriving wildflower garden instead of a manicured front lawn, charming architectural details, and a covered entryway practically make it the home of my dreams.

Per Northern Vermont Board of Realtors:

The booming U.S. housing market has spilled over to the rental market, which
has seen demand for apartment and single-family rentals skyrocket this year, as
high sales prices and an inadequate supply of available housing have forced
many prospective buyers to rent for the foreseeable future. Increased [...]

The White House recently announced additional measures to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure as they exit forbearance, including loan modifications and payment reductions. Borrowers with federally backed mortgages can lock in lower interest rates and extend the length of their mortgages. For borrowers who can’t resume their monthly [...]

Per Daniel E. Slotnik of the New York Times

Vermont has at least partially vaccinated 80 percent of residents 12 or older, allowing it to lift all remaining state pandemic restrictions, Gov. Phil Scott announced on [...]

School’s out, and as vaccination rates rise and America enters a new normal, the U.S. housing market continues along at a frenzied pace, with low-interest rates and limited inventory fueling record-high sales prices. May saw the median existing-home sales price exceed $350,000, a 24% increase and the largest year-over-year increase since 1999, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Eager buyers are making multiple offers, some for well over the asking price, while others are making offers on homes sight unseen.

New Listings decreased 3.3 percent for single-family homes but increased 27.1 percent for townhouse-condo properties. Pending Sales decreased 4.6 percent for single-family homes and 8.9 percent for townhouse-condo properties. Inventory decreased 43.9 percent for single-family homes and 34.0 percent for townhouse-condo properties.

Ultra-low mortgage rates returned this week, with lenders offering home buyers and refinancers a chance once again to lock in a rate below 3%. But the National Association of REALTORS® warns that these low rates in the 2% range won’t last much longer, and mortgage rates likely will edge up soon. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.95% [...]

May was another strong month for real estate sales, check out the monthly snapshot below: